AZ gets some action, plus I was managing to stop in time (hard on the rear brakes - must swap AZ to left hand) if that didn't work because once they started braking it seemed there was a good chance of a left hook coming up.

Geez you've got some dumb-nuts up there in Brissie

With that centre island coming up, making the left carriageway too narrow to share safely with an overtaking car, I'd still be claiming the lane, riding where the bike logo is at 0:08, not to the left of it. Similar to the safest practice on approach to single lane roundabouts.

Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.

AZ gets some action, plus I was managing to stop in time (hard on the rear brakes - must swap AZ to left hand) if that didn't work because once they started braking it seemed there was a good chance of a left hook coming up.

Classic case of the "must get past syndrome". The female driver, the wide berth given and the type of car all suggest to me that the driver wasn't being deliberately rude and aggressive. She simply was not a competent driver who could not judge your speed or conclude that is was safer and sensible to wait.

In most cases I would prefer an rude & aggressive competent driver to an incompetent one.

agreed. in her mind, she just approached the intersection at normal speed, braked, then commenced turning. what else could she do? it's not her fault.. the basic concept of feathering the throttle or lifting off for a few seconds to stay behind the cyclist is beyond these drivers' skill level. i'm sure she was left wondering what went wrong.

Agreed, but... This is a school crossing and the view of oncoming traffic is none too flash. Should an opposing move prsent at the same time, this tool is likely to unthinkingly swerve straight over the top of me. While my personal safety is paramount in how I ride, I'd hate to secore it at the cost of an innocent. You'd think that I'm able to match the speed limit in that section might make a difference...

...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.London Boy 29/12/2011

bychosis wrote:Yes scary close, and if I'm not mistaken that corner has had similar incidents previously. Time for more assertive lane claiming? or a quick side trip on the footpath?

Good memory though this one was quite closer and more brown trouser worthy

I'm leaning towards jumping onto the footpath although there's a blind driveway on the corner so I think it's just going to be a corner where I'll lose all my hard earned momentum. Meh, I'd rather lose momentum than come a cropper from one of our MM friends

Mulger bill wrote:Agreed, but... This is a school crossing and the view of oncoming traffic is none too flash. Should an opposing move prsent at the same time, this tool is likely to unthinkingly swerve straight over the top of me. While my personal safety is paramount in how I ride, I'd hate to secore it at the cost of an innocent. You'd think that I'm able to match the speed limit in that section might make a difference...

I was about to say, school crossing would mean 40kmh limit when the flags are out. If such behaviour is on the cards I'd say it's time to call the boys in blue and get them to stake the road with speed cameras. A few nice fine file should blunt the tools

Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.

can I ask a techno gumby question please - I keep clicking on these links to watch the MM drivers (i like to obviously see what you have to deal with) as well as educate myself BUT... whenever i click on the videos here and it starts to play, i only get a strip at the top and at the bottom and the video itself bit doesn't show here. Maybe it's to do with settings or something, but i can see the same shaped box and watch the timer move across the bottom of the box, except i can't watch the video - i'll see if i can post a photo to show what i mean....

Had an interesting encounter on the way home last night, car on a cross street looks right at me & then pulls out anyway so I brake & swerve, just missing the rear of his POS car as I pass I give the driver a free & frank character assessment that he was a fairly stupid chap, or words to that effect :wink;

Apparently this MM didn't take kindly to that & met up with me shortly thereafter, asking me to repeat what I said so I did. MM protested that he had plenty of time so I pointed out that as I had to brake & swerve to avoid him that he was wrong.

Jimboss, time to get a camera? That way you don't need to bang on the window, you just report them and it feels much better ... and is probably a lot more effective in improving their behaviour in future.

InTheWoods wrote:Jimboss, time to get a camera? That way you don't need to bang on the window, you just report them and it feels much better ... and is probably a lot more effective in improving their behaviour in future.

The 808 type are good enough and about $36.

+1

I don't go anywhere, either by car or bike without my cameras. The Jumbo's are used on the bikes and the GoPro in the car. These Jumbos and the 808's are cheap to buy, give very good results and will allow the police to see exactly what took place.

I thought the more sensible answer was to claim the lane earlier. If the bike lane is ending then unfortunately it is usually up to you to merge appropriately.

Consider it from the motorist's point of view. I was driving along in my own lane when a cyclist merged into my lane next to me without even looking. He then had the nerve to bang like a lunatic on my window and insist it was my fault. I did nothing wrong, I was travelling at a constant speed in the centre of my lane.

(I'm not defending the motorist for a close shave. A good road user would have seen an up coming conflict and ensured that it did not occur, this applies equally to cyclists and motorists. The description given earlier suggests the rider did not check for oncoming traffic nor take action to ensure no conflict.)